How long does it take to prep Q'tank.

[viodea]

I just bought a used 10G & mechanical filter as my Q'tank. I'm planning on putting the sponge in my sump between baffles to collect beneficial bacteria.

Can I just wash the tank and start using it before bacteria buildup?
If not, how do I know it's ready?

Do I need to use any other filter media other than the sponge?


thanks

[papagimp]

Depends on how you plan to utilize this QT tank. If you want it up and running all the time, I'd let the thing cycle appropriately with the sponge filter. Test your water to know when it's good to use, nitrite and ammonia will both be 0 and nitrates will be 0 once you do sufficient water changes to drop em down.

if you plan on just setting this up for QT when you need it. then just clean it good, rinse even better, place your seeded sponge filter (after it's been in the sump for a couple weeks at least) and then start using. Again, being darn sure to test water quality very often and do water changes as their needed to keep quality optimal.

BTW, if you're not using a sponge filter but just tossing a sponge in the tank, then you'll be doing alot more water changes. A sponge just floating in the tank is nowhere nearly as effective a filter as an air pump powered sponge filter, which i'd reocmmend you use intead. Or an HOB filter if ya got one.

[viodea]

I'm planning on running the QT only as needed (new or sick fish).
I have a HOB mechanical filter. The sponge will be in the filter.

I just read somewhere sponge in a reef tank is not good. Is it safe for me to put the sponge in my sump?
What is the reason not putting sponge in a reef tank?

[IslandCrow]

I'd do exactly what you're doing. Keeping an empty tank running seems a bit of a pain to me. I can set up my QT in less than half an hour. I always keep saltwater on hand for a water change, so I just do a 10g water change from my main tank and use that "waste" water to fill my QT. Like you, I keep my biomedia in my main tank's sump, so I add that (and possibly some activated carbon) to the HOB filter, plug in the heater and pumps, and I'm done.

The reason they say sponges are not good in reef tanks is that if you use it for filtration and do not clean it very often, it will collect detritus. You're not using it for filtration in this case, though. If you just put the sponge in a low flow area of your sump, it will stay colonized with denitrifying bacteria and shouldn't be a problem. I prefer using ceramic biomedia or just some live rock rubble, personally. I don't know this for sure, but I'm guessing they're better at colonizing bacteria than sponges. Truthfully, though, with the amount of water changes I do for the QT (2-3 10-15% water changes per week), the filtration probably isn't even necessary.

[viodea]

great... seems like I'm heading in the right direction.
I need some help on the biomedia. I don't know much about the mechanical filter. I think I have a AquaClear 50. What kind of media do I need if a sponge is not as good?

thanks

[papagimp]

Island, only problem with using rubble rock or ceramic noodly thingies instead of a sponge, if you do medicate in your QT tank (instead of having a separate hospitalization tank) then you can ruin the live rock and other media. A sponge is a pretty cheap item to chunk if need be.

other than that, viodea, I agree completely with Islands last comments.

I do personally keep my QT setup permenantly, but this causes a few problems, I tend to house something in QT (which is full of sand and rock, I medicate elsewhere) and eventually I always seem to decide to just keep "whatever" in that tank until i set up a new tank and in the meantime, some stuff just doesn't get QTed at all. Might be better if I setup a quick tear down system, lol.

[papagimp]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12063876#post12063876 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by viodea
What kind of media do I need if a sponge is not as good?

thanks

Any media can act simliarly to what the sponge will do. Dont worry about it being "bad" just rinse it off often. And typically the sponges we are refering to as being bad are those that are used for mechanical filtration only, not bological filtration. For intentional biological filtration, the sponge is fine. (just rinse it often and use the old tank water to rinse it with, that'll keep the bacteria alive) Other media, like filter floss or cut to fit filter pads will work great as mechanical filters in a HOB since you just chunk em every few days. I get a roll of filter media that last me about am month or so, cost about $5 at my LFS.

[viodea]

great. I think I'm ready!!!

thank you all

[IslandCrow]

Island, only problem with using rubble rock or ceramic noodly thingies instead of a sponge, if you do medicate in your QT tank (instead of having a separate hospitalization tank) then you can ruin the live rock and other media. A sponge is a pretty cheap item to chunk if need be.

That's a very good point. I was speaking specifically for a quarantine tank and not a hospital tank, but obviously a QT can become a hospital tank very quickly if the quarantined fish shows any signs of illness, and as you said, a sponge is much easier to replace.

[kevin2000]

My 02

Its very easy to QT one or two small fish without having a mature bio filter ... you just have to rely almost exclusively on water changes to maintain water quality and that's not difficult so long as you keep the QT clean.

I run a barebottom QT and syphon out any uneaten food or fish debris with a turkey baster .. painting the outside bottom of the QT white allows you to readily spot this. I also make up a large batch of replacement water when I setup the QT .. this insures that I have a ready supply of "mature" SW to insure that ammonia levels stay at zero.

Here's a link which discusses how to QT .. authors a clownfish breeder and uses hypo during his qt (something I recommend).

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=288805

[viodea]

wow... great thread. QT is way more complicated that I thought.
Did he really mean drip 8 hours to lower salinity? It's a long time. I don't think I feel safe to let it drip without constantly monitoring the progress. I was thinking adding a cup of RO/DI water every 15 min or so, is it too fast?

[kevin2000]

Hypo tanks are basically 1/3 SW and 2/3'rd FW. When I am in "stocking mode" I will setup my QT with 1/3 SW and put in one fish (acclimating appropriately) .. I then drip the remaining FW using my Kalkwasser doser (but you can Mcgyver anything including a simple air hose with a knot to restrict flow connected to a bucket of FW). Once the tank is at the proper height you should "fine tune" until you get the appropriate salinity (refractometer helps) ... once at the proper salinity its a good idea to mark the outside of the tank at the water line so you can replenish evaporation and keep the salinity at the proper level.

Hope this helps.

[leoslizards]

Good thread. I plan to keep an empty 10g tank as a QT/Hospital tank. I'll just keep a hob filter in my sump to keep the bacteria alive and use it when needed then replace the foam when done. :)

[viodea]

Does it mean I have to get a air stone? I have a small power head and a HOB filter. If I don't fill the water high enough, I can't turn either one on. So, while dripping, I have to use something else to aerate water until water level is high enough for me to use my power head & filter.

I have newly mixed saltwater in my QT now. My sponge is not seeded. I want to get a couple of clowns in there tomorrow. Should I use a bag of carbon, new sponge, or both in there?

thanks